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At the water, he shed his layer. The patches of hideous scars were revealed but he focused on stepping back into the water. His long hair settled into it and seemed to flow around him as he watched his husband with curiosity. Like he was sure that he was going to be rejected now that he'd seen the hideous parts of his body. Not that he was that beautiful to begin with. Nothing compared to others.

Caution. It was so ingrained in Runyu that he didn't now how to just let it go.

But, he did at least leave room for Zishu to join him in the water. He was still trying even if he wasn't sure what ground he was meant to stand on.

He blinks at the horrible burn scars that dot Runyu's body, but he doesn't feel they detract from the man's beauty. No. They scream of a hard life of silent suffering. Of surviving. He respects that.

Zishu steps into the water after the last layer is draped over a chair and frees his hair from the tight bun, shaking it out as he sinks into the bath. He feels that curious gaze settle on him but doesn't immediately meet it. Only when he's settled does he lift his gaze to meet it.

"I am sure you have questions. These rooms and my own are secure. No one will overhear anything said."

"Why don't you flinch at the sight of the my scars?"

Or ask about them. But he didn't ask that. Instead, he noted how the bath basically meant that his husband was behind him now. They were so close and yet far at the same time. The distance was something that he could feel so clearly now.

It would be easy to lean back against him. To have his warmth as well as the warmth of the bath. But he decided against that for now.

"You have plenty but mine..."

One of the many questions he'd expected. Zishu shakes his head a little, resisting the urge to close that distance between them just yet. Too easy.

"They only tell me you are a survivor. I do not find them disgusting." Or Runyu.

He scoops up some of the water and runs it over one of Runyu's shoulders. "Do you like water?" He wonders how to make this less of a burden.

"A survivor..."

Runyu's gaze turned distant. He wasn't a survivor. That wasn't how he'd gotten these scars. Even now as he ran his fingers over one that rested above his heart he knew that wasn't true.

"I did these to myself."

Then water flowed down his back and he glanced back. A moment later and he nodded. "Yes. Water is a part of me. It's in my nature. I'm a water dragon."

That startles him to silence. "Aah?" A quiet sound, gently curious. Willing to listen...only if Runyu wishes to tell him.

A water dragon. This has him even more curious. Then a moment of thought.

"I will have a pool made for you here, and at the Four Seasons Manor where I live when I can get away." Places just for his husband to escape and relax in his element.

Maybe he should be afraid. But he isn't - Runyu has made absolutely no sign of aggression to him. But it does bring another wary thought to his mind. "Who here knows what you are?"

"My childhood was not a charmed one. To hide what I was, I would cut pieces of myself off. My horns, my scales... Things I didn't have the power to hide. I never had the energy to fully heal them back then."

The mention of pools surprised him though and he turned to face the man more. He'd do that for him? Honestly he loved water, loved to be in it. Loved to be around it. But to have pools that were meant for him? He'd never truly had that before. Even the river at his home before hadn't been for that.

It meant a lot to him.

"My escort who will leave when the festivities are done. And you." No one else knew. He had no intention of telling anyone else either.

That decides it. Zishu decides to do everything in his power to protect this dragon. His dragon, though he knows better than to say that out loud. He rests that hand gently on that wet shoulder, meeting his husband's gaze as the other turns to better look at him.

There's a look of amazement that hurts in a way that firms his determination, and he nods. Two pools. That'll be easy enough to make happen.

And he's relieved that no one else should know - especially Prince Jin. "No one will hear it from me." There is a fierce promise in that statement.

He has no reason to believe this man. Zhou Zishu could betray him easily. Let his power be used by others when he didn't want that. It would be so easy for him to do that. Pathetically so.

And yet...

And yet Runyu believed him. This man was telling the truth. No one would know that he was a dragon. He was promising him in that moment. Turning around, he presented his back to him again. And then, he actually leaned back into him.

"You're not as cold as everyone says..."

Just as Zishu has no reason to trust Runyu. And yet he wants to. He could abuse the power of this knowledge, but he's growing less and less pleased with what he's been used to do.

What worse would his cousin do with a dragon?

He startles just a little when Runyu turns his back to him again, then leans back. Instinct makes it simple though and he curls an arm around the other's waist, legs parting to make resting against him simpler and more comfortable.

He laughs suddenly at those words. "You're not one of my targets, or one of my disciples. You are my husband, my equal."

Equal. He'd never been an equal to anyone. The words felt as good as the arms around his waist though. He found himself smiling a little, finally reaching up to let his own hair down completely. This was... This was nice.

"Could you...say that again? That I'm your equal?"

Runyu wanted to hear it. When Zishu said it it sounded so real.

He smiles softly and tightens his arms around his husband's waist.

"You are my equal, Runyu."

He dares to rest his cheek against that dark hair once it's loose.

"I have no reason to trust you at all but my heart wants to believe you."

It was a strange but welcome feeling. Much like the man holding him so closer. He felt as warm as the water around them and he found himself curling into that more. He couldn't stand the cold. Which meant that he was more drawn to the body he was pressed against now.

Maybe he could be happy here. Runyu couldn't say yet but he wanted to believe it possible at least.

"No, you don't," he agrees. But the fact Runyu wants to, warms him. "You have every right to see me as lesser, being only human." But his martial arts grows stronger every day, slowing his aging.

Feeling anyone curl into his embrace like this feels insanely good. He doesn't want to let go! So maybe he uses a bit of his power to encourage the water to stay warm, so they don't feel the need to get out too soon.

Can anyone really blame him?

"I want you to at least be content in your life with me."

"I've never viewed mortals as less than myself. I may be older than everyone here but I don't enjoy thinking that way."

True he would have a higher status here due to the fact that he was the leader's husband but he didn't mean that. Immortal...mortal... Did it really matter in the end? Of course mortals put more thought into it but only because they were working to achieve it generally compared to himself who had essentially been born into the life.

Leaning his head back against his shoulder, he hummed softly in thought. "Content? I think I would like a life like that."

He rests his cheek against Runyu's temple, allowing himself to enjoy this. What he hears, he believes. And likes. "That is more than some of those in the Window of Heaven believe."

But not Zishu himself. He's travelled amongst the people too much to believe otherwise.

"Good. Then I hope you will tell me if I can adjust anything to make that happen."

"So accommodating. You're going to spoil me, you know."

This was his first time really speaking with this man and already he was finding the banter easy. Comfortable even. It made it so much easier to relax with Zishu, he noticed. Something he so rarely allowed for himself.

To thank him, he lifted a hand up to move it over the water. It seemed to turn to a glittering jewel like the stars of the night sky as it rippled. Runyu smiled some and closed his eyes.

"We really haven't been bathing though have we..." He wasn't complaining though. He liked this.

Zishu chuckles. "I want to. Will you let me?"

He has a much better feeling about this marriage's prospects now. It helps that he feels Runyu actually relaxing with him.

The display of magic has him draw in a startled breath, watching how the water reflects the sky, and smiles, only to laugh again at the comment.

"No. We have been doing something equally important though." Getting to know a little bit about each other, in a way that was intimate as well as more practical. He drops his head to dare nuzzle a bare, wet shoulder, though doesn't bother wiping the smile from his lips beforehand.

"I've never been spoiled. I have no way to know if I'll like it."

But if it was anything like this then he had a feeling he'd enjoy it a great deal. Especially when he had such an appreciation for his powers too. He was sure he was the only one who could really do things like this here but that didn't bother him. Runyu had decided he only wanted to use them for his husband. Someone who appreciated them but showed no signs of wanting to abuse them.

Zishu's head nuzzled his shoulder and his eyes opened to slide his gaze to the side so he could look at the man. "I didn't think I was going to enjoy myself here. It seems so cold. But, I think that you've changed my mind by allowing me so much warmth."

Daring to turn around, he let himself straddle the man's lap as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders. All so he could look at him better. "I don't like being cold. Will you keep me warm?"

Careful spoiling. Some things just can't be done. But if he can, and it won't hurt those under his care (needlessly), then he will see it done.

And Zishu doubts Runyu will mind what he has in mind for this 'spoiling!'

Cold? He could see how people would feel that way here. And he deals often in death - sometimes it clings to him as an extra layer. He doesn't want that to touch his husband though.

Runyu's movement prompts him to loosen his hold, though his hands stay at the other's waist to help ensure he's steady until he's settled in the position he seeks. He allows himself to curl his arms back around his husband as those arms wrap around his shoulders, and his smile warms.

"Yes."

He'd been so sure this was going to be another prison for him. Another place where he'd be controlled and he'd have to worry about every move that he made. The more time passed the more he realized that wasn't the case. In just one night, Runyu was sure that he fully trusted this man. Why? Even he couldn't say and didn't want to say.

That warm smile was enough to make anyone melt. But he knew that it was all his. Wet fingers even came to trace it, admiring how it looked on this handsome face. He gave him one of his own as his fingers moved to trace the lines of Zishu's face next. Like he was mapping out a path to memorize for the future.

"I leave myself to your capable hands then. To always keep me warm."

A prison mostly in keeping what he really is hidden from anyone not Zishu. But this is someone he doesn't want to control or cage.

He has the status to manage it. To give his husband pools of water to relax in and be himself, that will be jealously guarded and warded as fiercely as their own rooms.

He hums at the trust he feels placed in him, nuzzling those fingers before giving them a playful lick. He runs one hand over his husband's back, as if checking the temperature of his skin.

"Are you cold now?"

The water had warmed him a great deal but under it Zishu was likely to notice that Runyu didn't really stay warm easily. Not when his energies were aligned with Yin. Water and ice? They weren't heat oriented at all.

Laughing softly, he tilted his head to the side. They'd gone from banter to flirtation yet it felt so natural. He couldn't say that he minded. Far from it.

"Will you warm me up again if I say yes?"

He can feel it. He's used to noticing the subtle things, details that would go unnoticed by most. But that just means he'll need to take extra steps to keep his husband nice and warm!

He's happy to accept this challenge. He grins, delighting in each laugh he earns. He presses his lips to that bared neck in a playful kiss.

"I did promise."

The kiss made him shiver. It was a nice feeling, those lips on his neck. It made him smile a little more. He'd been unsure about being with a stranger so intimately during his days leading up to this moment. Now, he felt like he could and would want that.

So, he leaned in close so his lips could be near his ear. The water had him so warm but he had no problem lying right now. It was for...a good cause.

"Yes. I'm very cold."